One of the goals of a liberal education is to teach students how to think beyond the obvious, to learn to synthesize and analyze information. So far in Bridge, we have begun to model this process for you thorough the two part assignments and the Bridge postings that are usually written in two parts--one focusing on local or personal information and the second focusing on political and/or global perspectives.
For today's prompt, I want you to consider what you did this weekend. In about 100-150 words, describe something you did as fully as you pssibly can. Then, in a follow-up paragraph of 150-200 words, analyze your own behaviors using one of or all of the following ideas: worldview, mindset, or American Myth. That is, consider how what you did reveals a particular perspective or belief. Consdier what role this has in terms of political power. Discuss larger issues that may be addresses from behavior that is usually understood as somewhat irrelevant or benign--like going to the movies, or hanging out with friends. In other words, how could you turn your individual personal story into a longer discussion about something relevant to other people? That's the real goal in most writing.
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On Friday, I caught up on some of my writing assignment then I went over to my grandmother’s house. I helped her clean her house and helped her pack because she’s moving soon. She cooked dinner, we talked, and it started to get dark so I drove back home. When I got home I took a shower, read a chapter of my book Our America, and went to sleep.
I woke up Saturday morning, brushed my teeth, and then finished my writing assignment for class. Then I went to the kitchen to get some cereal, but there wasn’t any milk. So I got into my mother’s car and drove to McDonalds to get a 2 for 3 dollars egg Mcmuffin. After I ate I went back home to get in the shower. When I got out the shower my phone started to ring and it was my cousin. He wanted me to play basketball with him so I did then after that we went to the mall. My cousin needed to get some new shoes for his birthday, which was the following day. Later on in the evening me, my cousin, my girlfriend, and my brother went to Dave & Buster’s. We really enjoyed the food; I had a Philly cheese steak, my cousin had the same, my girlfriend had the shrimp basket, and my brother had ribs. We enjoyed all the fun games too; I really liked the racing games. After that I went to my girlfriend’s house and I spent the night with her.
I woke up Sunday morning feeling bad because I was originally supposed to go to church with my grandma. I didn’t want her to think that I was trying to blow her off so I gave her a phone call saying I was sorry. I didn’t do anything really on Sunday, but spent time with my girlfriend. I went home early because I had school the following day, so I just slept the rest of the evening.
The way I helped out my grandma, I think a lot of people could relate to me. Most people that I know belief systems on their grandmother’s are to help them out and basically take care of them. I think that’s the least I can do when she helped raised me. I have respect for her because she goes the extra mile, meaning she does things that aren’t obligated for her to do. Such as, give me money, give me wisdom, and just sit and talk to me when no one else will. I respect her in every way because she doesn’t look at me as a child, but an adult and that’s what I love about her she takes time to hear what I have to say, not what somebody else tells her.
Well after class on Thursday I decided to do my homework so I wouldn’t have to worry about it all weekend. I had to go to work but I called off so that my paper was done correctly for class. My boss was much made but he understood my situation. I did not type my paper that day because I did not have access to a computer. Friday I did my math home work with my younger cousin. Even though she is younger than me she knows a lot about my lesson in math. I got the hang of my work because of her help. Then I had to go to the eye doctor. My appointment was canceled so I waited a while then went to work.
Saturday I woke up very early to get my day started. It was horrible for me because my day was organized and my time was short. I had my eye appointment at 10:30 but the doctor didn’t see me until 12 a clock. It set my day back because I was supposed to go to the library and type my paper. So after my appointment I rush to the library to type, but all of the computers were down for some odd reason. It made me feel very upset but I held my anger. At 2 a clock I went to work and it made things worst. I had to do a lot of cleaning and my vision was going blank. I prayed to myself so that my worries would go away and all my stress was out. I woke up Sunday and I had to do open to close at my job. The whole time I was at work I was trying to figure out how I was going to complete my paper that need to be typed. I left work an hour early and I went to my friends’ friend house to us his computer. His computer did not have Microsoft words so I was in the whole. I typed it anyway and showed up to the lab the next day to print.
I spent my whole weekend basically trying to get my homework done correctly and work around my job schedule. I made sure that my work was done before anything else because in the long run my education will help my future. I will understand life more clearly, and I will have a great career. I had a hard time but I got it done by effort. I kept my priorities in my mind and my head on straight that’s how my effort affected my homework. I think that I should have done better at getting my work done because I had three whole days to do it. I’m in college now so I have to make sure that my work is acceptable. Teachers want things done in a certain way and as a student I should have my work done the way that the teachers ask and on time. Some people who have work to do in a certain time period wait till the last minute to do it. If you get right to your work you will have time to look it over and understand it more.
On this past Friday, I went back home to Milwaukee to see my mother. She is very sick and I had to go home to be with her. She has been through a lot in her life regarding her health yet even at her weakest, she is one of the strongest people I know. She was in critical condition at one point and at times I thought I was going to lose her. At that exact moment, I realized that I am not going to have her forever. Now that I can really say that and knowing that this is actually true, I re-evaluated several people and things that are in my life. There are many people and opportunities I take for granted everyday and knowing that I do this daily is saddening because if these people or things ever leave my presence I might be too confused to get back up on my feet. My mom always taught me to never be dependant, which I’m not I am very independent. She also taught me never to be alone and to always have a close knit-friendship or relationship with someone because no matter what you do or who you may become it is irrelevant if you are alone.
My mom is my every thing to me and it hurts me to know that I can’t help her when it comes to her illnesses. I feel that at times I am not a good daughter because whenever I was sick or just needed help, she was there. Now that I went on to college and left her alone, I feel like I failed her in a way. I strongly believe that I should be there by her side at every moment like she has for me. She has sacrificed everything we had at one point for my sake and I should be doing the same. One thing I can say that does make her happy but also a little sad is that I am in college now. At some points of my life, me or her thought I would never make it this far. Yes, she has always supported me and told me I would make it but it seemed so out of reach for me. Yet she pushed me and showed me the path to my success. My mom is more then just my mother, she is my best friend. We have never had anyone but ourselves to count on or be there for us. Even when it came to us having our family to count on, that is not reality to us because they were never there when we really needed help. The word family has no meaning to me unless it is being referred to as my mother. Since I’ve never had my father in my life, she has been both mother and father for me and for that I thank her. She has truly been a blessing in my life and I love her more then life it self for those reasons.
Some people don’t have figures in there lives that can not only positively teach them but actually care for them too. Sometimes people try so hard to find this person or comfort that instead of it being positive, the comfort they find becomes negative. Many children who desperately need this look towards gangs, drugs, violence or live in a world of solidarity because they don’t know where else to look for that love. In our culture family or just a person to love is an important parts of our lives. If everyone had this in their lives then I think the negativity in our society as a whole would be lessened and more people could grower happier and faster.
This weekend I went back home to hang out with my friends in Lake Zurich. I started my weekend by visiting my friend who was leaving for vacation and who I won’t see the rest of the summer because of us both going to college. After that I went to go home when my buddy john called to see if I wanted to enjoy the nightly festivities at his house, and I accepted. When I got there my friends ran out to see me and give me a hug and ask how school was all while finding out my friends were all on LSD. When I said hello to everyone my friend Jason asked me to come outside and talk about how I was doing because he had heard I didn’t like it here at first. We talked for about an hour on how you miss little things like your dog or your bed. He was the only one who truly understands me right now and that will all change when everybody goes off to school, but I was just getting that out of the way early he told me. Jason and I walked into the basement with everybody else and everybody get high for the next couple of hours while talking about what happened at school and what happened in Lake Zurich. I left Johnny’s at about 3:30AM and went to sleep right away.
This weekend when I came home I honestly say I did nothing of any use to anyone person or thing because all I did was see my friends and smoke pot till the wee hours of the night. It’s really sad that I came home to actually do something and ended up doing the same thing I did before I came here. My weekend was supposed to be a weekend of getting things done and getting high was not anywhere in that plan nor did it help me get anything done. The one thing I actually did this weekend that I wanted to do was to sleep in my bed but that was easily finished. It may seem that I’m just a “pot head” or a “stoner” but it’s not the reason I get high. I get high because I have really bad back pains from a car crashed two years ago. Pot is a good thing as long as it used in purposeful matter unlike people who just smoke it to just simply smoke it. I believe medical TCH would help many people in this world for most problems like pain, headaches, and people who are living with cancer. California has medical THC where if you get a doctor’s note you can buy marijuana legally from a store and can legally hold set amount on you without being charged for holding.
This weekend I decided to go back home because I missed my house and all the stuff that came with it. So on Thursday I called my mom and told her that I felt like coming home and wanted to know if she wanted to come and get me. I know that it has only been a week that I have been away but I did not feel like staying when I had nothing to do. Since I am only seventeen there is not a lot that I can do after hours because most of the best stuff is open to people eighteen years and older. Besides sitting in your dorm room all the time is not as fun as you would think. I missed all my friends, my mom, and my OWN bed so that’s why I left. I was so relieved when my mom came and got me at like twelve in the afternoon on Friday.
On Friday I packed up all my things in the morning and called her to make sure that she was actually going to come and pick me up. When I found out she was downstairs I grabbed all my stuff and left. I had such a good time that it was unbelievable. We did not just want to go back to Naperville right away so we just hung out downtown for an hour and went shopping at all the stores which was fun because I got to get stuff. We went out to eat and then we had to rush to the train station to make sure that we caught our train before it left (which we did). The train ride was not that long since it was an express but it felt like forever to me because I just wanted to get home. When I got home for the most part I just stayed home the whole weekend because I was just so happy to be there. On Saturday I did hang out with my friends which was great we just watched Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both worlds concert in 3-d and just basically sat back and enjoyed the company of everyone and just being around the people that I truly care about. Sunday I came back and went shopping with my roommates which was great and that was all my weekend
This weekend my mindset was primarily on my family and friends. Being away from all the things that I stuff that normal is apart of my everyday life was a big deal. I usually just take the fact that I’m so close to my mom and all my friends for granted that when I could not even call them to just hangout or come over to sit and talk I really understood that I needed them. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to just get the experience of being away from everything and seeing that they are really special to me because now I know that I have something that many people may not have. Even though we are all going away and I may never see them again I am just happy that they were the ones that most of my fondest memories are with. Even though my mom and I argue over things I was especially happy when I saw her. It was always me and her so getting the chance to see her after a week was the best thing.
My weekend started early and I was happy about the fact that there wasn’t any school on Fridays. I drove home and got ready for work and grab my laptop so that I could work a little bit on my response paper due that returning Monday. When I got to the barber shop in Chicago Heights I had started right away on the assignment first l listed some key points to talk about in the story and began to write. I had a few appointments that day so I would have to finish writing the response later. I had a client telling me about how his day was going and then I did likewise. We discussed the views in the world such as will the candidate Obama be president or will the gas prices go down and how I am doing in school. When he asked me how things were going in school I told him I was having problems doing binary problems in math. He helped me understand binary work a lot easier. I told him that I had problems with math on and off. He said that it wasn’t my fault because the teachers should have found a way to teach where everyone would comprehend. In his own opinion he believes that the teachers failed the students that are why the students failed to do the work in class.
I think that the reason that I may not pay attention in class may be because I have a lack of interest in the subject at hand. I can’t say it’s all the teachers fault because not all teachers think they should have to hold your hand. I think if grade school teachers had some of the same strategies as college teachers the kids wouldn’t be so co-dependent in life.
On the weekend I usually like to have alone time, since I am always busy on the weekdays. This weekend was different. I spent quality time with my family, and friends. My mother threw a barbeque for my step father’s birthday, which all of my family and a few friends attended. Therefore I didn’t get the alone time I usually get on weekends. I didn’t mind though it was fun spending time with my family, most of them I haven’t seen in years. We joked, played cards, watched the baseball game, and even ran a game of basketball ourselves. Being around my family made me feel good, it also made me realize how important family is.
Spending time with family is very important. Family members should not be taken for granted. Having family should be considered an asset, because as long as you have a good family that loves you, you should succeed. A family should be there for you at all times, whether good or bad. They should be there to motivate you and guide you into the right direction. Talking to my family about school and my future made me believe this.
This past weekend was all about having fun. With being back in school during the summer, tiredness can build up quickly. So, my good friends and I decided to go to the club just to relieve some stress and have a good time. We went to Club Cancun, a club we go to on occasions. It seemed like this weekend was an occasion with different situations betweens all of us, with females and stuff like that.
Getting loose and acting a fool, was pretty much my main focus while in Cancun. Not a fool like in a violent way, but a fool meaning being flirtatious with pretty much every female I saw in the club. In this club you have many different forms of expression through dancing. The two that stand out the most, in the club would be: juking, and footworking (Chicago is famous for these styles of dancing). No one is worried about hurting each other, although on some occasions there can be drama, but nothing serious.
I believe in being respectful of other people’s forms of expression. My mindset of this comes from my experiences and environment in which I was raised. A lot of people don’t know how to express their feelings on paper, or even in a classroom. They express what their feeling through dancing or a form of music. Whether rapping, singing, ballet, or krumping, it all connects with what the person is feeling. When it comes to people going to the club, some of their reasons are probably similar to mine. The people that hold in the power in the club would be the owners, and the security. Outsiders looking in may not understand, why we choose a place like this to calm down and have fun. But don't judge a book by it's cover, go inside and take a tour for yourself. After that, you may have a better understanding of why we do what we do.
On the weekend I usually like to have alone time, since I am always busy on the weekdays. This weekend was different. I spent quality time with my family, and friends. My mother threw a barbeque for my step father’s birthday, which all of my family and a few friends attended. Therefore I didn’t get the alone time I usually get on weekends. I didn’t mind though it was fun spending time with my family, most of them I haven’t seen in years. We joked, played cards, watched the baseball game, and even ran a game of basketball ourselves. Being around my family made me feel good, it also made me realize how important family is.
Spending time with family is very important. Family members should not be taken for granted. Having family should be considered an asset, because as long as you have a good family that loves you, you should succeed. A family should be there for you at all times, whether good or bad. They should be there to motivate you and guide you into the right direction. Talking to my family about school and my future made me believe this.
This weekend I had a lot of responsibilities regarding church. I had to attend a gospel hip hop explosion that was designed to attract young people to church. I was in charge of getting the younger children ready for games and handing out prizes. The kids I was responsible for were between the ages of seven and twelve so the age range between them and me held me back socially. Many wanted to take part in the games others did not and the rest just came for the food, which I had no problem with because I consumed a lot myself. Overall the kid’s had a wonderful time and that was the reason I wanted to get involve to be able do something positive.
It was a great experience for me because I was able to be social with people that were different from me in many ways and found a common ground with them. They were different from me in the way they carried their selves and the way they talked. In the midst of me learning about them I found out that some of the same struggles I deal with other people deal with.
This past weekend was a very crappy one. I wasn’t feeling very well Thursday night so I went to bed very early. I woke up the next day around ten-thirty. I had work at noon. I had to work till eight o’ clock. I carry food to tables at a restaurant. It was a very long day. I stayed up for about two hours and then fell asleep. I work again Saturday at noon. Woke up at ten-thirty again and went in to work from noon to eight. I was very tired again. I managed to read some pages of the book of I’m reading for class called Our America. Then I fell asleep after about a half hour of reading. The next day was crazy. I had to type a paper for English and it was due the next day. I was making phone calls all day to people with computers. My girlfriend was out with family, most of friends just weren’t home. I finally called my friend from Northern Illinois University. He graduated a year high school a year before I did and was a good friend of mine. I remembered he got a laptop for Christmas for college. I called him and asked If was ok to use it. He said he didn’t have a problem with it. He came and picked me up. When I got to his house I had a hard time writing the paper. I found the prompt hard because my story was different than everybody else’s. I finally finished the paper around an hour later. I asked if he had a floppy disk, he said nope. I said ok, I’ll just email to myself than print it at school. His response was, dude my internet crashed. He suggested saving it to a blank cd. I never heard anyone use a cd before to save a paper. I decided it was my only choice.
Last Sunday showed me that I care about school. Usually when it comes to school I’m laid back and very relaxed. Sunday was a very crazy day and it was all over writing a paper for my English class. If I had to put any more effort into that paper other than typing I probably would have just taken the zero. I realized that my college education is very important in my life and I never should waste my time and I should always do my work. This country has a perception that my generation is the laziest they have ever seen. People have no idea that kids have to work their asses off to finish papers for class, to get into college. They think because of advanced technology we have that life is easier for us and we don’t have to try very hard. Well they guessed wrong because kids do care about their education and their futures. I hate when adults say my generation is lazy or careless. We have to work harder than they did because everybody is smarter, faster and better. I’m just trying to go against this belief that the world is basically fucked because we’ll be running it in the future. Our generation is going to prove people wrong. Last but not least to those people who don’t believe. Think about who’s raising these so called lazy kids? The generation before us.
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